16 Scariest Job Search Stories That Will Make You Cringe

Job search is a process that every person goes through atleast once in their lifetime. In most cases the job seeker comes out either happy or unsatisfied. But have you ever seen anyone coming out looking terrified. Job search some times becomes very annoying and for some even worse. It is mostly employers who have a tough time with candidates but there are times when even candidates will have to undergo some scary instances while job searching. The following are some annoying job interview instances that went completely wrong.

Scary or Terrifying Job Interview Stories:

1. Splash!

It was raining one day when I suddenly saw the office building had started to leak. Even though it really wasn’t an ideal place or the right time to conduct important interviews, the recruiter decided to check it out anyway while he was looking for a proper candidate to fill the position with the help of an assistant. The interview went pretty good when we suddenly saw the ceiling collapsing. It wasn’t long when we saw a crack and a huge splashing noise. Before we realized, the rain water was all over the office and I was drenched till my feet. Not only was I ashamed but also annoyed and irritated at the same time. I told the interviewer that I had no interest in doing the job any further.

2. Your zodiac sign:

When recruiters are not sure whether you match the qualifications or not, they will not ask you about silly things like your zodiac sign. But this is something that happened with a candidate who had just completed an hour long interview and it seemed to have gone quite well. Little did he know that the employer was actually going to ask him about his astrological sign along with salary requests and a few references. The recruiter then had to explain that this was just their procedure of recruitment and it could help them determine if the candidate could have become a good match with other employees. Isn’t that weird?

3. Sick resume:

After spending a very long time trying to create a resume, a candidate was quite anxious to get a call back from the company he had gone to. But unfortunately when he sent his resume to another employee, an email came back to him that said that the resume was virus infected and apparently was quarantined. After reading this, he gave up all hope with this one idea in particular. He said ‘a person will never be able to recover from a resume that is infected. I will not even try to pursue this position any more’. And that was perhaps a good move!

4. Creepy interviews:

So something really strange happened to a friend of mine a few months ago. He walked into an interview and came across two of his recruiters. The skinny person at first looked quite okay but then he began to act all weird and strange like he was leaning too much and was moving around his nose around the neck of the candidate. And to add to that, he was eating something with all the crumbs falling everywhere on his body. The other person didn’t have anything to say apart from the fact that he was requesting the candidate for his drivers license, for a photograph of his relative and baptism certificate. Meeting such people definitely shocked his wit and left him speechless. Even though he was accepted, he never attended the interview again.

5. Scary interview:

After finishing a long questionnaire, the candidate felt like he was officially ready to meet all the employers for the next interview. But as soon as the guy walked in, he didn’t know what he was about to face. The candidate said that the recruiter happened to be wearing something very strange and bizarre. He wore a suit with tennis shoes and was jogging about in his cubicle. The man was definitely abnormal and trying to show off how busy his life is. In fact, throughout the interview he was being impolite and rude to him as if he had done something wrong.

6. Crying:

I remember I had attended an interview a couple of months back before I got the job that I have today. It was quite a good company and most people I knew of had told me about the best facilities, salary hikes and quick promotions so I thought this place could definitely change my life. So I went there and waited for my turn to come. Surprisingly when my name was called, I was expected to go to another room when the others were told to see the room in front of them. I was shocked. When I walked in, I saw my employee sitting there with a smile on his face. He greeted me and the interview continued for an hour. Just before I was about to leave, the recruiter said he would give me the job if I could cry. I was surprised. He said ‘Just cry as loudly as you can and the job is yours. I want to see you beg’. I was so scared, I left immediately. I never went back to them again after this.

7. Infectious handshake:

It wasn’t long ago when Alice had gone to attend her first interview. She had recently become a graduate and was looking for something new and interesting. She visited a bio tech firm where she met the VP. Everything was going just fine when he suddenly sneezed into his hands and the tried to shake her hand. Since I was searching for a job, she couldn’t ignore. When Alice sat down, she saw the desk was covered with medicines and tissue boxes and cough drops that really scared her. She literally left the office right there, went to wash her hands in the office and never went back in again.

8. An attractive offer:

Now this is something I never expected to happen to me. I was attending a skype interview once when I noticed the manager was dressed quite vaguely. He was smiling when it was not needed and was trying to flirt somehow I felt. I tried to ignore as much as I could when the manager suddenly told me ‘You are a very pretty woman. I think you and I could have a connection. Do you want to take dinner with me this Thursday night?” I was so appalled and shocked at this question that I looked blankly into the screen. He was staring at me and smiling. I couldn’t help but hang up a few seconds later.

9. Harlem Shake:

This experience happened to be the most shocking and weird experience of my life. I had been in Florida for around two days due to an interview. Once I was done with the first day, I was about to take my bag and leave when all of a sudden I felt someone following me. I turned around and it was the manager. He said they have an exciting announcement coming up and that all candidates should wait in the lobby. I sat there with the others and waited for around three minutes. At the end of it, they came and said the marketing department had decided to do a harlem shake video and everyone was expected to participate. The expression on my face was worth seeing.

10. Inappropriate questions:

When I was attending an interview recently, I was told that the final three people who have made it to the spot are white, male and someone belonging to a certain religion and I would really like to have a woman hold this spot. Then the interviewer goes on to tell what my husband would probably think about me taking up this job. In another place, someone asked me about my religious affiliation and told that in case I change my religion, I could get a permanent job in the organization.

11. Interruption:

A few years back when I had left town to attend an interview with a non profit in the same city which my husband and I both had hoped to relocate. I had gone to the office and was speaking to the executive director when all of a sudden I see my husband popping up from the window and waving his hands towards me furiously. It turned out that he apparently had locked our son in the car. The good part is the kid was doing good but she did end up getting a different job in the same town.

12. The salary that failed:

Elizabeth Freeman, a popular marketing expert in the states once said that she was looking for a spot and apparently it had gone downhill when another topic for conversations suddenly came up. Before the interview, she had checked through mail how her payment was but the person who was interviewing thought he had the right to haggle with me over $10,000. When she didn’t change her plans, it became slightly awkward for him and he called her an inflexible person and gave her a long lecture on how the world really works nowadays. Even though she had maintained herself, he still asked if she could work on a part time basis and she had to say no. Even when she was leaving, he actually asked if he could send a few ads for internships.

13. Question answered badly:

I did this really cringe worthy move once when I was in office. I don’t understand how could I be this silly. The recruiter asked me if I have any convictions. I just sat there and thought for a couple of seconds and then I said that no I don’t. The interviewer just looked at me and he was slightly shocked. When he said convictions, I thought he was talking about my beliefs, but he was actually asking me if I have been convicted of any crime. Not only was that surprising for me but also took me a long time to answer and that is the reason why I didn’t get the job I wanted.

14. Text queen:

Now this happened to be not as a candidate but as a recruiter rather. I was once interviewing this female and she was constantly getting texts on her phone. Instead of switching her phone off, this girl had the nerve to even reply back to them. Throughout the interview she kept messaging her friends because she was so annoyed and tired. She went outside for a couple of minutes and even came back. I couldn’t give her the job because of this. If any of you have done this at your work place, I would suggest you to never do so.

15. Drama king:

My friend Stephanie had once gone for an interview at a popular tech firm once. The interview was going fine when suddenly she hears her manager screaming for no reason. He had become so audible that even people in the next cubicle came rushing in. Later on, she found out that he suffers with a split personality disorder and often scolds and reprimands his employees for no reason. Now that was really a shocking piece of news for all of us.

16. The stupid resume:

A friend of mine had done something absolutely preposterous and ridiculous once during an interview. He had sent a resume to another friend of mine who was working as a bank manager. Everything was fine about the resume about the resume apart from this really silly and vague title that went something like ‘Impossible is nothing’. My friend was so shocked seeing it, she started laughing at it. Not only did my other friend become the joke of Wall Street but also realized that impossible is definitely something for him. If you plan on doing this, please don’t. You might lose your chances of landing the job.

This brings the post to an end. If you have met people like this at some point of your life and have some scary/creepy interview or job related stories, do share with us in the comment box below. Also remember that these things happen often but should not be taken personally. In the corporate world, you must remember to take things as lightly as possible. It will definitely help you in the future.

12 years of Experience within the International BPO/ Operations and Recruitment Areas. Extensive experience in Complete Recruitment Life Cycle - Sourcing, Negotiation and Delivery.
Loves Writing in my Free Time on varied Topics